Clipper Round The World Race Brief

Clipper Round the World Race Luxury Yacht Charter & Superyacht News

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race: Race 13 – Day 7: Teams get through tropical storm ahead of Scoring Gate victory

June 22, 2012

Day 7 brought an eventful 24 hours for the ten strong fleet of racing yachts participating in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race. With a tropical storm threatening to obstruct the fleet’s progress in Race 13, it seems nothing will stand in the way of the teams’ individual determination to obtain that coveted podium position, and those vital extra points.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

As reported yesterday tropical storm ‘Chris’ which has been the cause of some challenging conditions for some of the fleet in the past 48 hours, has now started to pass reports Clipper Race meteorologist, Simon Rowell, “Tropical storm ‘Chris’ should be starting to ease off now. Once that gets back to a normal Atlantic low the whole thing should slowly move off to the north east.”

While a tropical storm might deter the most seasoned of sailing professionals the Clipper Race fleet fought on and the Welcome to Yorkshire was the first entry to cross the Scoring Gate yesterday at 15:46 GMT winning three extra points. Geraldton Western Australia followed at 03:58 GMT and won two points. There is still one point up for grabs for the third place on this optional Scoring Gate in the race course. With just three points separating fourth place Singapore and fifth place Welcome to Yorkshire , the top of the overall leader board continues to get closer.

Qingdao is still making its way towards Newfoundland, following an incident yesterday morning, where crew member Lynn Harmer fell below deck and banged her head during unsettled weather conditions. Lynn, 61, from Hull, is still stable and her condition is unchanged. The yacht skipper is currently 24 hours away from shore and is in contact with the Falmouth Coast Guard and the Clipper Race Office. Further updates will be posted on the website.

The Clipper Race fleet is set to arrive into Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland between 29 June and 1 July.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race: Race 13 – Day 6: Tropical storm ’Chris’ looms

June 21, 2012

Day 6 of Race 13 from Nova Scotia to Derry-Londonderry saw the ten international teams participating in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race do all they can to keep approaching tropical storm ‘Chris’ at bay.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

In the last 24 hours, the fleet has received warning that ‘Chris’, which was expected to pass by, has been moving closer towards them and could produce further challenging conditions. Meteorologist and winning skipper of the Clipper Race in 2002, Simon Rowell, reports, “Today should be the strongest day of tropical storm ‘Chris’, with it forecasted to start curving northwards, reaching its furthest point east by midnight tonight. Depending where each team is positioned the centre could get pretty close to them, and even though the winds won’t be more than they have seen many times before, the speed of change in wind direction and the confusion will add to the sea state which will make helming quite challenging.”

With the tropical storm in sight, the teams have been busy plotting their best course to move away from its path whilst not jeopardising their position on the leader board, as well as carrying out preparations on board for the potential heavy upwind sailing.

Gold Coast Australia, Singapore and Welcome to Yorkshire continue to lead the pack, whilst Visit Finland has emerged from its period in Stealth Mode in the middle of the leader board.

At 0500GMT this morning, Qingdao crew member Lynn Harmer had a fall below decks and sustained an injury. Lynn is in a stable condition and is being looked after by a medically qualified crew member on board. The yacht is in contact with Falmouth Coast Guard and the Clipper Race Office.

As a precaution Qingdao has changed course towards Newfoundland (approx. 450 miles north west) to get Lynn closer to shore based medical support if it is required. If her condition improves, a decision may be taken to resume racing towards Derry-Londonderry. Further updates will be posted on the website.

The Clipper Race fleet is set to arrive into Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland between 29 June and 1 July.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race: Race 13 – Day 5: Fleet pray for prevailing winds

June 20, 2012

Day 5 of Race 13 from Nova Scotia to Derry-Londonderry in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race saw the ten international fleet continue to tack their way across the North Atlantic Ocean, hard going through the fog as well as light headwinds that have bothered the teams during the past 24 hours.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

With a firm eye on the weather reports to define their tactics, each team has been working carefully through its sail wardrobe in a bid to catch the breeze and head further north where there is potential for some fast sailing.

The teams to the south have experienced a short burst of long awaited wind overnight which has seen Singapore overtake two of its rivals and move into second place. As the Scoring Gate draws closer the teams will have to consider whether to go for the extra points on offer or concentrate on a more favourable position on the leader board.

In his 0600 report, skipper Ben Bowley, says, “Finally we found some good current and the wind started to veer more rapidly. This has allowed us to tack over and head on the great circle route straight to Derry-Londonderry.

“Conveniently, this course takes just through the southern end of the Scoring Gate too. Over the next 24 hours we shall have to see how we get on with our more easterly course and decide whether to go for the gate at all or to head further east still and set ourselves up better for the next patch of strong winds. The breeze is already filling in nicely and we are currently charging along at around ten knots with single reefed mainsail and Yankee 2. Come on ‘Singas!’

Meanwhile, on board Visit Finland, skipper Olly Osborne reports, “Today has seen a change of fortunes as we have seen the miles slipping away sched by sched to our competitors.” At 0000 UTC last night, the Finnish entry played its Stealth Mode card, which allows its position to be concealed from the rest of the fleet for a period of 24 hours.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race: Race 13 – Day 4: Infamous Grand Banks fog

June 19, 2012

Day 4 of Race 13 from Nova Scotia to Derry-Londonderry in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race saw the infamous fog around the Grand Banks, Newfoundland in the North Atlantic hit the Clipper Race fleet.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

The air is damp, skies are grey and visibility for most of the day has been less than 100 yards according to reports from the Clipper Race skippers. So while the teams are on full lookout to ensure they avoid any possible dangers ahead in low visibility, their eyes are also still on the weather reports defining their tactics.

Clipper Race Director, Jonathan Bailey, said, “The jet stream over the north Atlantic is a bit unstable at the moment which has kept the North Atlantic high further south than it historically would be at this time of year. Not only is this responsible for giving the UK some pretty poor weather over the last few weeks, it is also giving the Clipper Race yachts some challenging tactical decisions as they have had steady headwinds since departing Nova Scotia, rather than the more usual following winds that would be expected at this time of year. This has forced all of the yachts further south than they would probably wish and the navigators will be studying the weather closely to figure out when to make the move north.”

The Clipper Race fleet is around 400 miles from the optional Scoring Gate, which can give entries vital additional points as the end of the world’s longest ocean race comes closer.

“We will probably see most of the yachts tack towards the north to get to the Scoring Gate over the next 24 hours and it would not be surprising to see a few ‘Stealth Modes’ used to try to keep the other nine boats in the dark about tactics. When they tack will determine how successful they will be in the long run. What we are seeing on the race viewer now and what will occur over the next 24 hours will most likely be the major tactical moves of this race,” added Jonathan Bailey.

Currently in Race 13 Gold Coast Australia remains in the lead, Visit Finland in second and Welcome to Yorkshire in third.

Clipper 11-12: Race 13 – Nova Scotia to Derry – Londonderry – Day 3

June 18, 2012

Another eventful 24 hours of the Clipper Round The World Race have seen the strong fleet competing in the challenging ocean race across the North Atlantic.

CLIPPER 11-12- RACE 13 - NOVA SCOTIA TO DERRY-LONDONDERRY DAY 3 - Image credit to On Edition

CLIPPER 11-12- RACE 13 - NOVA SCOTIA TO DERRY-LONDONDERRY DAY 3 - Image credit to On Edition


While the winds have eased off slightly along with the spur of sea sickness, thoughts have turned to tactics overnight. The ten yacht entries are considering when to head north towards the optional Scoring Gate, which could give them vital additional points in these final stages of the world’s longest ocean race.

Visit Finland’s skipper, Olly Osborne says, “As the weather changes over the next couple of days it will not only provide respite from the choppy upwind sailing, but should see the fleet turning northward toward the rhumb line route. This will hopefully be a chance for us to take advantage of our northerly position, and to get a head start in the dash for the Scoring Gate. But only time will tell who the weather will favour in this notoriously unpredictable region, and for the meantime it’s still best course to windward.”

The Finnish entry has slipped back into second place, with only one mile separating them and first-place Gold Coast Australia who remains in a more southerly position with the majority of the fleet.

Singapore has moved back up the leader board in third place ahead of Welcome to Yorkshire, currently in fourth. “We now have a couple of days of lighter wind up ahead of us and how we play the taking angles will be essential if we are to pop out the other side and get moving to the north again before our rivals,” says Singapore skipper, Ben Bowley.

The Clipper Race fleet is set to arrive into Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland between 29 June and 1 July.

Clipper 11-12: Race 13 – Nova Scotia to Derry – Londonderry – Day 2

June 17, 2012

The fleet of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has been battling the wind  for the past 24 hours in the North Atlantic, adapting to the everyday challenges of the ocean racing once again.

Clipper 11-12- Race 13 - Nova Scotia to Derry - Londonderry - Day 2

Clipper 11-12- Race 13 - Nova Scotia to Derry - Londonderry - Day 2

“It’s been a bouncy, wet and uncomfortable day on Welcome to Yorkshire today. Racing close-hauled at over 20 degrees of heel, on port tack in over 25 knots of true wind, has brought a dose of reality to all on board after the warm flat conditions of the past three races.

“Every movement and action takes not only planning, but three times the effort that it did before,” says Welcome to Yorkshire skipper, Rupert Dean.

The rough conditions have caused a lot of the crew members, who have swapped their day jobs for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sail around the world, to be hit with sea sickness as they are re-adjusting to life on board.

In the last 24 hours the fleet has also split into two groups – a northerly and a southerly, with Visit Finland and New York opting to stay to the north of their other eight competitors, closer to the way point.

“We are hoping that our northerly route will allow us to stay above the fleet as we all tack for the way point, and essentially sail less miles. But a lot will depend on how the wind changes over the next couple of days and it will be interesting to see how things work out,” says Visit Finland skipper, Olly Osborne.

The Finnish entry has taken the lead overnight, while Gold Coast Australia has slipped into second and Welcome to Yorkshire is currently in third place.

The Clipper Race fleet still has more than 2000 miles to conquer, before arriving into Derry-Londonderry in Northern Ireland between 29 June and 1 July.

Clipper 11-12: Race 13 – Nova Scotia to Derry – Londonderry – Day 1

June 16, 2012

Following a short stopover in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the ten teams racing in the world’s longest ocean race have taken off for Derry-Londonderry in Northern Ireland taking part in the Race 13 of the 15 race, 40,000 mile circumnavigation – the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race.

CLIPPER 11-12- RACE 13 - NOVA SCOTIA TO DERRY-LONDONDERRY - DAY 1 - image credit OnEdition

CLIPPER 11-12- RACE 13 - NOVA SCOTIA TO DERRY-LONDONDERRY - DAY 1 - image credit OnEdition

It was an exciting start to the 2,350-mile Atlantic crossing as the teams yesterday afternoon (GMT) lined up at the inshore start line with only minutes to spare. Aided by steady winds, as the gun sounded, all ten teams crossed together in a tightly packed charge out of the harbour with only metres between each yacht.

Jostling for position over competitors, each team has been using almost every sail in its wardrobe over the last 18 hours and as they head further into the Atlantic, choosing the right sail plan opens up the potential for some very fast sailing.

If you look at the Race Viewer on the Clipper Race website you can see the fleet is still packed with only seven miles separating the front and back runners. Gold Coast Australia is currently in the lead while Visit Finland is second and Singapore is in third place.

With the Clipper Race crew getting back into the routine of rough ocean racing, on board Derry-Londonderry, skipper Mark Light reports that the mind-set on board is focused on achieving its first win, and the first home port win in the race series.

“We are all fired up to get the most important result that we can. A first place, a yellow pennant, a home port win – a victory would be an amazing achievement. We will do everything that we possibly can to make the city proud on our journey across and it will be absolutely fantastic to sight the shores of Northern Ireland ahead of our arrival. We are most definitely coming home.”

The fleet is expected to arrive in Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland between 29 June and 1 July, where the UK City of Culture for 2013 will host a Clipper Race homecoming festival on behalf of the fleet from 29 June – 8 July.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race: Race 12 – Day 5: Highly tactical finale

June 11, 2012

As battle for a more advantageous leader board position comes to its end, Day 5 of Race 12 from New York to Nova Scotia in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race saw an exciting as well as highly tactical 24 hours for the ten strong fleet of 68-foot ocean racing yachts.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

There have been many changes in weather and race positions for the fleet. Each team has had their fair share of gains and losses in the variable winds which have seen them yo-yo through positions on the leader board.

At 05:31 UTC (02:31 local time) today Gold Coast Australia crossed the finish line for Race 12. In this close knit race from New York to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada where only 30 miles separate the fleet, each team has strived to choose the best tack to get the highest speeds over its rivals.

With a successful game plan that calculated the maximum use of the tides and winds, skipper Richard Hewson reports, “Shortly after sunset the breeze began to die away, and was a far cry from the predicted 16 knots from the north west.  As the evening went on the wind further reduced to five knots, varying from northerly to easterly direction and some severe choppy seas created by the wind over the tide.  We were almost stopped in the water only 15 miles from the finish.  Occasional gusts of wind enabled us to finally get the boat moving with some momentum to carry our way to cross the line.”

Visit Finland has claimed second place finishing at 10:42 UTC today, closely followed by Welcome to Yorkshire who arrived in Nova Scotia in third place at 11:12 UTC. Meanwhile, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital and Geraldton Western Australia are neck and neck with only seven miles until the finish line with New York and De Lage Landen hot on their heels.

If one looks at the overall race standings on the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race website, he will see that Gold Coast Australia now has enough points to win the series. However, there is still all to play for as the Australian entry will not only be up against the opposing teams but 2,200 miles of the mighty Atlantic Ocean for Race 13 to Derry-Londonderry, NI.

Each team has a duty of care to its Clipper Race yacht and any damage or race rule breaking can see penalty points deducted from their overall score. With three more races to complete the potential to loose points still looms.

The penalty points for Leg 7 have now been announced by the Clipper Race Office and taking a sting is Singapore, who have received one penalty point for equipment damage, and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital who have had one point deducted for sail repair and two points for equipment damage.

The rest of the fleet is expected to cross the finish line within the next 12 hours. From there the teams will motor to the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race: Race 12 – Day 4: A sprint for the finish line

June 10, 2012

The ten-strong fleet of racing yachts participating in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race went through another night of competitive racing. With just over 100 miles until race finish in Nova Scotia, the fleet continue to fight to win podium position as well as vital points.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

“The fleet is locked in a closely fought tactical battle,” is how the skipper of the Welcome to Yorkshire entry described Race 12 from New York to Nova Scotia. The British entry is currently in third place, currently only one mile separates them and fourth place Singapore.

Gold Coast Australia continues to retain their lead after experiencing some near perfect sailing conditions by the northern part of Georges Bank, at the edge of the Atlantic continental shelf between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia, “At midnight the tide finally turned for us and our speed over ground increased to match that of the other yachts, catapulting us towards Browne’s Bank where we hope to gain another tidal advantage to help maintain our lead over the yachts to the west,” explains skipper, Richard Hewson.

All ten of the racing yachts are fiercely competing to make gains on each other. However, it hasn’t been perfect sailing for the whole fleet as variable wind conditions continue to frustrate New York and De Lage Landen, while Geraldton Western Australia has been experiencing frustrating counter currents hampering their speed and slowing down their progress.

The lead yachts are expected to cross the finish line within the next 12 hours from there the teams will motor to the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, arriving at approximately 0800 local time (1100 GMT).

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race: Race 12 – Day 3: A battle for crucial points

June 09, 2012

Day 3 of the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race saw another day of competitive, tactical sailing for the ten-strong fleet of 68-foot racing yachts participating in the world’s longest race, as the battle for crucial points in the final leg of the race is high on everyone’s mind.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

Stuart Jackson, skipper of the De Lage Landen captured the tension within the fleet, ‘The incredibly close racing is keeping everyone on their toes; we have been in sight of most of the fleet for the day. The wind has finally started filling in so we have had some great spinnaker sailing since early this afternoon.”

Race 12, the 600-mile sprint to Halifax, Nova Scotia is shaping up to be one of the closest yet. Gold Coast Australia is currently in first place with only four miles separating them and second place Visit Finland, which is neck and neck with third place Singapore.

Richard Hewson, skipper on Gold Coast Australia who is first on the overall leader board, is taking full advantage of the good weather to train the new crew members ahead of race finish in Nova Scotia, “We have been coaching the new crew members since we left New York to bring them up to speed for the remainder of the race. The mild conditions create a fantastic training platform and everybody remains fit to enjoy the sailing.”

The Clipper Race fleet is expected to arrive in Halifax, Nova Scotia between 11-12 June and will be berthed at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron.

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